


Anything at All

by aizu_fox



Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Fox and Rooster WAFF, Friendship/Love, Gen, I ship them forever, Women's issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 22:38:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5802997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aizu_fox/pseuds/aizu_fox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Megumi's time of the month is making doctoring uncomfortable--so a lovesick Rooster volunteers to help</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anything at All

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Blood Moon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4402919) by [Floris_Oren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Floris_Oren/pseuds/Floris_Oren). 



> Thank you Floris_Oren for the inspiration! ~*~
> 
> (Characters are the property of Watsuki Nobuhiro and only borrowed by me for this fanfiction)

***

“Hey Fox! You in here?”

A very impatient Sanosuke Sagara stood in the doorway of the Oguni Clinic with yet another hand injury and called for the young doctor who would no doubt give him another lecture. 

There was no answer in the clinic. Several of Megumi's medical supplies were laid on the desk and she, who was meticulous about putting them away, would never have left the clinic in a state of disarray. Sano stole quietly back to the patients' rooms and saw Megumi stretched out on one of the futons grasping her stomach. She was moaning and sighing very slightly, but didn't seem alarmed at what was happening to her. A cup of water sat on the table next to her alongside a small bottle of willow tree sap—something she used to treat pain. Alarmed to see the doctor in such obvious distress, Sano ambled towards her. 

“Kitsune, what in hell happened to you?”

Megumi's eyes flew open.

“What are you doing here?” she said in too-forced annoyance. “No wait, let me guess. You were drinking and gambling, you won, and then to celebrate, you drank some more and hit someone?”

“Smart fox,” Sano grinned. “Except that I lost. Again.”

As Megumi rose from the futon, she gave Sano a hard whack on the arm. “I treat two year old children who are smarter than you are!” She winced as she dragged him off to the chair. 

“Meg, you look like something hurts. What's wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” the young doctor said with a few vigorous waves of her hand.

“Doc, come on.”

“Drop it.”

“Nope.” 

That infuriating grin that made every muscle in Megumi's body bristle with annoyance spread across his face.  
She sighed. Sano's ability to sense trouble or pain in others almost rivaled Kenshin's and once he suspected someone he cared about was struggling, he didn't let it go until it was taken care of. 

“I...have a stomachache, alright?” she blurted out, quickly. Close enough

“Oh,” Sano nodded, chewing on what appeared to be yet another blade of grass. At least he had stopped with the disgusting fishbones.

“Alright, well if you want me to bandage your brilliant self, give me your hand. Otherwise, scram. I have other patients today, and....HEY!”

“Huh. Well, hey, isn't this the stuff you usually use for stomachaches?” Sano had taken it upon himself to yank open and rummage in Megumi's medicine cabinet, shoving aside several jars and bottles and pulling out a green vial of a powder mix. “You gave this to me once after I overstuffed myself at the Akabeko. Tastes like sh--”

“I JUST arranged everything in there! And give me that!” Megumi snapped, snatching the bottle from Sano's hand. “Honestly!”

“Sheesh.” Now it was Sano's turn to roll his eyes. “Hold on, I'll get your water.”

“Just you wait!”

“What?!”

“Never mind.” Megumi grabbed the bottle on the table and pulled her smock on. “I have to get ready. I know that I several appointments to re-bandage OTHER PEOPLE for a change so I don't have time to play games with you.”

“Who's playing, woman? You just told me you had a stomachache, so take the medicine already! It'll start working by then!” Sano felt his frustration rise to the surface. Why was she being so difficult?

“Baka....it's...it's not an actual stomachache!” Megumi heaved a sigh and her forehead hit the heel of her hand. 

Ugh. 

She was a doctor, not to mention a woman as well so it was hardly anything to be embarrassed about but never, ever did she think she would have this conversation with Sanosuke of all people. That moron was always showing up and poking his chicken beak where it didn't belong. His knack for catching her off guard was second to none. 

“Then what the hell is it?”

Sano looked genuinely confused, but after a few seconds, his eyebrows raised and he gave Megumi another glance. She had appeared to be holding her stomach, but now he saw that the discomfort was located in an area that was... slightly lower. 

“You mean you're....uh....uh...” He awkwardly pointed his finger in the general direction making Megumi roll her eyes.

“Yes, Sanosuke, you figured it out.” Megumi shook her head as if to cool her burning cheeks. “Sometimes the cramping gets bad, but nothing really works as well as rest does and I have work to do, so---,” Here she gave Sano an impressive push out of her office “--- if you'll excuse me.”

“Hold it,” Sano said easily, taking Megumi's shoulders and stopping her from pushing him out. “You said you just had to wrap people up. I could probably handle it. Why don't you go rest s'more?” He shrugged lazily as if he was confused Megumi hadn't thought of it already. “Oh yeah, and don't you need something to put in your...”

“Hush it!!” Megumi snapped, cheeks flaming as red as Kenshin's hair. “I can deal just fine thank you very much!”

“Aw, c'mon fox. You and I both know I've got nothing going now and I've bandaged guys up before with all the fighting I've done, you know. Just the buddies of mine that I liked though.” For a moment, he looked so smugly proud of himself that Megumi didn't know whether to laugh at or pinch him.

“Always fighting with you. Do you ever stop and think for ten seconds about...ooo!” 

A sharp cramp started in Megumi's lower abdomen and she took the edge of the chair as she breathed deeply. Sano was at her side in an instant, taking her arm and lowering her down to sit, after which he brushed his finger tenderly against her cheek. Megumi looked up at him, startled at the small, affectionate gesture, but the chicken-head was still obnoxiously clucking about his ability to bloody up peoples' faces. 

“ You know, Meg, I think I've bandaged at least as many guys as I've put in the hospital!”

What a nitwit. “Really now?”

“Yup!” Still that infuriating grin. “Think of how much business you could get 'cause of me.”

“You already give me enough business. Or at least you would if you paid.”

“ Impressed?”

“Hardly.” Megumi frowned at the Rooster suspiciously, trying to hide a smile. “ Well if you bandage so well, why can't you ever fix yourself up instead of coming here and bothering me?”

Sano opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly caught himself. Megumi was the smartest woman—scratch that---the smartest person Sano had ever met. Did she really have no idea why he kept wanting to see her? As for Megumi—who hardly minded the pestering--- she held her breath, waiting to hear what he would say.

“Well, I'm right handed,” Sano said casually. “So, you know, can't really do much with my left one, especially not bandages.” He flexed his fingers in the air and smirked at her.

“I don't even want to think about what else you do with your hands,” Megumi huffed, tossing her hair back, “and if you keep fighting like you do, you won't have use of either one of them.”

“Would be a shame. So many things these hands would like to do,” Sano drawled, winking at Megumi as a wicked smile spread across his face

WHACK. Megumi's open palm connected impressively to Sano's head.

“OUCH!”

“YOU JUST SAID YOU'D HELP ME!” Megumi yelled. Her temper had been shorter than usual all day and Sano, as usual, had just tipped it over the edge.

“I WILL!” 

“WELL, I'D LIKE TO LIE DOWN NOW SO ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL OR NOT?!”

“I SAID I WOULD, ALRIGHT?! DAMN!”

“THEN START ROLLING THE BANDAGES AND QUIT BEING SUCH A MASSIVE PERVERT!”

Sano would never admit this to anyone, but as she stood glaring at him with her hands balled into fists, he felt fear grip him. Women really were scary. 

Especially Megumi. She got even worse than Jou-chan, and, despite all of his shady dealings in the underground world, Sano got genuinely frightened of Kaoru at times.

“Sheesh, fox,” Sano mumbled, rubbing his head. “If I hadn't known you were on the rag, I sure as hell would've guessed it by now.”

Megumi's fingers tightened around her medicine chest's handle and her eyes twitched at him in a horrifying manner. Sano grabbed the supplies he needed and ran to the other workroom faster than he ever had in his life.

****

It was late afternoon by the time Megumi opened her eyes again and glanced at the pocketwatch she kept by her futon. The sight of it brought a smile to her face as it had been her father's, purchased in England on one of his trips abroad to study Western medicine as a young doctor. Then she noticed the time and panicked. She had slept for almost two hours. 

Damn! 

She had left the clinic in Sano's hands for TWO hours and it was a miracle it hadn't burned to the ground yet. Forgetting how badly she was cramping, she jumped to her feet and grabbed her scarf to tie her hair back, not even noticing that someone had covered her with an extra blanket. Feeling a panic attack rise in her throat, Megumi suddenly stopped when she got to the door and heard voices coming from the treatment room. 

“All right, little lady, hold your head still.”

“I don't want that medicine. It hurts!”

“Aw, it'll be over before you know it. Promise.”

Cracking the door open, Megumi saw the reassuring sight of Dr. Gensai, who had just returned from his rounds a half an hour earlier, standing next to a young man whose daughter sat on Sano's knee. The little girl had sustained a large cut on her forehead, which had bled into her hair and down the front of her kimono. It was obvious that she had been crying. She glanced nervously up at the ex-fighter, who dampened a cloth with an antiseptic and Megumi saw that the child's lip trembled ever so slightly, poor thing. Sano applied the antiseptic gently to the girl's forehead and she winced slightly, but did not cry again. After taping the cut like he had seen Megumi do many times, Sano smiled at the child who grinned back at him. Dr. Gensai checked her eyes by shining a small light into them, asked her a few questions, and then reassuringly cleared her to go home. The girl's hair had been gently braided away from her face in order to allow Sano to treat her wound and tied with a strip of bandaging cloth. 

Had Sanosuke done that? Where had he learned to braid hair?

“Missy, you tolerated that better than I've seen some so-called tough guys do it. Nice job.”

The child, relieved that she was done getting finished with treatment, jumped off the chair and threw her small arms around Sano, who curled his hand around her back in a fatherly hug.

Fatherly? 

Megumi blushed until the tips of her ears burned. Why in the world had that been the word that came to mind?

The father and daughter left shortly afterwards. Dr. Gensai and Sano exchanged a few words, with the doctor thanking the brawler for being there for Megumi when she needed a rest--which she was frequently told she did-- before the older man left to check on his granddaughters who were at the dojo with Kenshin. Sanosuke shrugged lazily as though it were nothing and somehow intelligently knew to keep the details of Megumi's indisposition to himself. Megumi smiled when she heard Sano tell the doctor that he would stay at the clinic at least until he knew that she was feeling better and she stifled a laugh. After all, she knew that this time of the month was hardly anything to overly fuss over, but it was adorable seeing Sano so concerned. A loud noise from the kitchen startled her out of her reverie, and, with a sigh, she went to see what had happened, only to find Sano carelessly shuffling through her cabinets. 

“Sanosuke, what are you doing?!” 

“Oh hey, it's you.”

Megumi rolled her eyes. “Who else would it be?”

“Meh. How're ya feeling? How's your...uhh... thing? Is it gone?”

The doctor fought hard not to burst out laughing at how flustered he looked. 

“That's not quite how it works, but...I'm fine. What are you doing now?”

“What's it look like? I'm heating water.”

“Is that so? For what?”

“For you, crazy! Thought you could do with some tea, alright?” 

“I suppose. You can actually think critically once in awhile.”

“Heh. Such nice words coming from you, for once.” Sano said, casually. “You're the doctor, after all and didn't think of it yourself. You're suppos'd to be the smart one around here, but seein' how that's not the case...damn!” Megumi had grabbed hold of his ear and pulled down with an impressive amount of force. 

“Moron!”

“Shit!” Sano clutched his ear with one hand and almost spilled water everywhere. 

“What do you mean that's not the case?! And what's with you sneaking though my cupboards?”

“It's hardly a secret from ME where you keep the tea, vixen!”

“Freeloader.” Megumi was smiling now. The nap had refreshed her and she felt much better than she had all day. 

“Nag.” Sano gave her a crooked smile and handed her a cup. Megumi took it gratefully, relishing the warm feeling on her hands. 

As she sipped the beverage, Sano caught himself starting once or twice at Megumi's face despite his attempts to look busy.. She was so close to him that he could smell the lavender scent of her long, glossy hair. She had forgone the usual red lipstick today and not a trace of powder was on her face. It was hard for Sano to remember at times that she was human like the rest of them underneath her cunning and shrewd exterior and the lack of make-up showed a more vulnerable side of her

He had to admit that he preferred her without all the crap on her face. 

“This does taste nice,” Megumi murmured, dreamily staring at the tea.

“Thought it would,” Sano muttered, still staring at her face. 

Megumi noticed his dumbfounded expression and smiled, her beautiful maroon eyes glowing. Without knowing exactly what came over her, she reached over and looped an arm quickly around his neck and for a quick second pulled him close to her before letting go.

“...thank you, Sano. You've done so much for me today.” Her eyes gazed up at him with a softness he had never seen before and it was through sheer will that he didn't drop to his knees, beg her to marry (yes, marry) him, and kiss that beautiful mouth. “Really, Sano. Thank you, truly.”

“Yeah, Megumi, sure.” Sano stuttered. Then, before he could stop himself, it came out. “ I...I, uh...I'd do anything for you.” Anything at all.

For a moment, the two of them looked at each other and then at the floor as their well-known banter faded. Finally, Sano spoke up.

“Do you need anything else?”

“Not especially.”

“Are you gonna be okay if I leave you?”

“I promise I won't die.”

“Want me back tomorrow?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Great,” Sano said with a grin. “I'll see ya then.”

Megumi chuckled softly as she watched him make his way to the door and slide it open. He paused and stared outside for a bit, letting some of the chilly night air into the small clinic. “Just...send for me if you feel like it.”

She nodded. 

Then he was gone, hands shoved in his pockets and muttering under his breath.

“Definitely found the right doctor to cure what I've got.” *

 

* A reference to Sano's lovesick “illness” at the end of episode 14 of Rurouni Kenshin


End file.
